Following is the obituary for JOEL ROBERT HALLAS, submitted for the family by the Harding Funeral Home.

.   .   .

WESTPORT — Joel Robert Hallas, 79, passed away peacefully at home in Westport with his family by his side on Thanksgiving morning, Nov 25, 2021, after a hard three-year fight against pancreatic cancer. 

Joel — W1ZR — was an electrical engineer, sailboat owner and influential expert in telecommunications and amateur (ham) radio, writing seven books about ham radio and antennas.

He was born in Plainfield, N.J., on May 22, 1942, to Robert Stanley Hallas and Flora Wilbrink Hallas. 

Joel graduated from Greenwich High School in 1960. He served in the U.S. Army from 1962-65, stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, where he earned the rank of Specialist Five (E5) in the Signal Corps. He later graduated with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Connecticut. 

While working at Raytheon, he earned a Master of Science in electrical engineering at Northeastern University in Boston. In his working life, he also worked for Norden Systems, GTE, IBM, Seagram’s and AT&T in radar and telecommunications projects. 

He taught telecommunications at the Rochester Institute of Technology from 1993-1997. 

In Westport, he was known for sailing his sloop, “Windfall,” in the waters of Long Island Sound, with family, friends, co-workers, Y’s Men and a series of dedicated golden retrievers. He served as commodore of the town Minuteman Yacht Club in 1988 and 1989 and again in 2001 and 2002. 

He was appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission, where he headed the committee that was instrumental in bringing about the improvements to the Compo Marina, including the concrete flotation docks that increased the marina capacity and convenience to the benefit of local boaters. 

At the end of his career, remaining dedicated to his lifelong hobby of amateur radio, he joined the staff of ARRL, the National Association of Amateur Radio, as technical editor of their journal, “QST.” He wrote a popular monthly column and did a podcast called “The Doctor Is In,”where he answered technical questions from hams. 

Joel wrote seven books on aspects of amateur radio. His titles include, “Basic Radio,” “Basic Antenna,” “The ARRL Guide to Antenna Tuners,” “Hamspeak,” “The Care and Feeding of Transmission Lines,” “Understanding Your Antenna Analyzer” and “The Radio Amateur’s Workshop.” 

Joel leaves his loving wife of 58 years, Nancy Gatrall Hallas; daughter, Katie J. Phillis, (husband Mike Phillis) ; son, Dr. Stephen J. Hallas, (wife Dr. Sabrina Noel).  

Burial will be private. A memorial service is being planned for the spring. Harding Funeral Hone has been in charge of arrangements. 

Add as a preferred source on Google